Gogarty gives details of involvement with builder

Mr James Gogarty is expected to repeat his allegations about payments to the former minister for foreign affairs, Mr Ray Burke, when he returns to the witness stand at the Flood tribunal this morning.

Mr Gogarty (81), the former building company executive whose allegation that Mr Burke had received money from two builders led to the establishment of the tribunal, yesterday became its first major witness, over a year after the tribunal was established.

He appeared frail and hard of hearing at yesterday's session in Dublin Castle, but was able to give a detailed account of his involvement with the millionaire builder, Mr Joseph Murphy snr, for whom he worked for almost 20 years. Mr Gogarty has alleged that Mr Burke received £80,000 in payments from Joseph Murphy Structural Engineering and a developer, Mr Michael Bailey, in 1989. Mr Burke, who resigned in 1997, admitted receiving £30,000 from JMSE. Mr Bailey denies making any payments.

Yesterday lawyers for the tribunal led Mr Gogarty through his early life and the beginnings of his involvement with Mr Murphy. The hearing was adjourned before the substantive issue of planning corruption was addressed, but not before Mr Gogarty had made a number of allegations about the business and private affairs of Mr Murphy snr and other individuals.

Earlier, the chairman of the tribunal, Mr Justice Flood, had dismissed last-minute calls by lawyers for Mr Murphy and Mr Bailey for a postponement of the hearing. Both parties had called on tribunal lawyers to set the context of Mr Gogarty's evidence before he took the witness stand; they also demanded that they be furnished with additional documentation relating to Mr Gogarty's allegations.

Mr Garrett Cooney SC, for JMSE and Mr Murphy, accused Mr Gogarty of defaming people "left, right and centre".

Mr Colm Allen SC, for Mr Bailey and Bovale Developments, complained that Mr Gogarty was being "protected and cossetted", while his clients were being left to "twist in the wind".

"Dear old Mr Gogarty will give his evidence, be treated nicely and then totter off," he said.

Mr Gogarty had earlier revealed that Mr Joseph Murphy and his brother, John, had each lost about £6 million in a failed investment in the Isle of Man. As a result, he claimed, Mr Joseph Murphy was drinking a lot and was said to be suicidal.

Mr Gogarty, who as a director of JMSE reported to Mr Murphy, was prevailed on to stay after the normal retirement age. Mr Murphy promised to sort out his pension, and mentioned a figure of about £500,000, Mr Gogarty said.

Mr Murphy set up a trust fund for Mr Gogarty in Guernsey, and put £70,000 into it, he added. Mr Gogarty said he had settled with the Revenue Commissioners in regard to this.

Mr Gogarty said he was the project engineer for the refurbishment of the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin in 1984, which was part of a property portfolio purchased by Mr Murphy. The theatre had been leased to the late television presenter, Mr Eamonn Andrews, who had let it go to "rack and ruin".

He recalled meeting Mr George Redmond, who was at the time the assistant city and county manager for Dublin. Mr Gogarty said he was told by Mr Liam Conroy, a JMSE executive, to see to it that Mr Redmond got a ticket for a box in the theatre for any major shows that were running. Mr Conroy and Mr Redmond were "more than sociable, friends".

Though past pension age, Mr Gogarty commuted to England on behalf of JMSE for two years in the early 1980s. One of the contracts the company won was to supply steel used in the construction of the nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield. Mr Gogarty said JMSE worked on site in Sellafield, using steel sourced in Dublin and workers who travelled over from Ireland.

"That was done very discreetly because I think back home they were averse to nuclear involvement," he said.